Most of us walk around our neighbourhood rarely noticing the street names. As I walk around Newtown I like to look at the street names, understanding the significance.
When I wrote Gold on Mercer’s Hill I came across a number of location and street names and in some cases different sources or explanations for their origin. Some of the key ones on or in relation to Newtown and Mercer’s Hill follow.
The street that led to Aphrasia Cottage, the home of Henry Lawler, the captain of the “Aphrasia.” The “Aphrasia” was one of the earliest paddle steamers that operated between Melbourne and Geelong (1842). The steamer was named after the wife of the founder of the Port Phillip Steam Navigation Company who was also owner of the “Aphrasia.”
While the exact origins are not clear, it has been suggested that it is just a typical sub-divisional name or is related to Talbot and Pleasant Streets in that the same three street names exist in close proximity in Ballarat. Perhaps, as Morrow suggests, someone noticed this and named this street Ascot, noting that Talbot and Pleasant were both named in advance of it.
Ascot Street did not appear on any plans or maps until around 1890 as prior to this the land that it comprises was included in a specific lot land title and was not a street. By 1900 it was clearly shown on maps and land titles as a street. It is more likely that someone simply liked the name when subdividing.
Named after James Austin who had the Crown Grant for the land that this street is on. He was also an Alderman in the first elected Town Council in 1850 and then elected Mayor of Geelong in November 1851.
Named after the town in Nottingham, England. Mrs Austin, wife of landowner and Geelong Mayor (after whom Austin Street is named), came from Chilwell and suggested that her husband so name his land.
Named after one of the early doctors in Geelong, Dr. Jonathan Clerke who lived in the area. Note that the street is not spelled the same as his surname.
Hotham Terrace
This was a row of cottages located on the north side of Prospect Road in Newtown. The origins of the name are not clear but given the timing and significance of the name it is possibly after Sir Charles Hotham.
Unsurprisingly, this is named after Charles Joseph La Trobe, Superintendent of Port Phillip and the first Governor of Victoria in 1851.
Mercer’s Hill
Named after its first owner, William Drummond Mercer, who referred to the land as this in his own diary in August 1851.
This Parade crosses Mercer’s Hill in an east-west direction between Pakington and Talbot Streets. It, too, is named after the first owner of the land, William Drummond Mercer.
A major thoroughfare in the City of Geelong. It is also named after William Drummond Mercer.
The name Newtown has a number of possible sources but it is most likely a literal reference to New Town, which at some time was concatenated to Newtown.
While there were a number of Nobles in the early years it is likely that Noble Street is named after James Noble who was one of the first Geelong City Councillors elected in 1850.
Named after Sir John Sommerset Pakington, M.P. It is incorrectly spelt in a number of earlier references with a “c” (i.e. Packington.)
This street crosses the eastern end of Mercer’s Hill in a north / south direction from Aphrasia Street to Noble Street. There does not appear to be any other explanation for this name other than the pleasant view that exists there.
In the preface to my book I mentioned that I had been told that Prospect Road was so named for the prospecting activity that took place there.
Morrow however, in Investigator, has a slightly different source for the origin of the name.
“Geelong’s first doctor, Jonathan Clerke, lived finally at the South-east corner of Pakington Street and Austin Street, and in 1852 when he was about to return to England he described his stone home as “Prospect House, Prospect Hill, near Chilwell.” No doubt Prospect Road was the name later given to the Street running to the area from the west.”
Given that any prospecting activity did not really begin in earnest until after 1852, with the first real mention of gold in Hotham Terrace in 1862, it is likely that the house named the street. This is supported by the fact that the name Prospect Road was in place by 1850 when the land was first subdivided and sold and then subsequently auctioned off. The origin of Prospect house is unclear but just like the name ‘Pleasant’ it could simply represent the outlook or the scene that surrounds it.
Sharp Place
This is one of my favorites because, well, it doesn’t exist. There are references in land titles applications in the immediate area that the lane that runs parallel to and in between Aphrasia and Prospect streets (immediately behind St Davids Church) was originally named Sharp Place. A land title as late as 1937 still refers to it as this. No mention of that name, however, can be found on current maps.
Probably named after Richard Gilbert Talbot the first warden of the district of Grant in 1843.
Take care out there, go look around once it’s safe.
Chris
References:
Morrow, J.W., Aphrasia. “Origin of Geelong Street Names.” Investigator Volume 1 Number 5, Nov. 1966: 3. Print.
Morrow, J.W., La Trobe. “Origin of Geelong Street Names.” Investigator Volume 1 Number 4 Aug. 1966: 40. Print.
Morrow, J.W., Pakington. “Origin of Geelong Street Names.” Investigator Volume 1 Number 4 Aug. 1966: 39. Print.
Morrow, J.W., Prospect. “Origin of Geelong Street Names.” Investigator Nov. 1966:3. Print.
Morrow, J.W., Talbot. “Origin of Geelong Street Names.” Investigator Volume 4 Number 3 Aug. 1969: 199. Print.
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